


Let the Mystery Be

by Trista_zevkia



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Superman (Comics), Superman - All Media Types, Superman/Batman (Comics), World's Finest (Comics)
Genre: Dark, Dark!Superman, Established Relationship, Identity Issues, Identity Porn, M/M, Marking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-06
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 12:40:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3692655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trista_zevkia/pseuds/Trista_zevkia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mystery is presented to a detective. He's not happy when he solves it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let the Mystery Be

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this to explore the identities of our heroes, as there is more in there than just Clark Kent and Superman. The all powerful alien who could easily take over the world part of him. So it's dark and potentially triggering and you might want to think carefully about reading.  
> Previously posted elsewhere; just updating and such. Somebody must have edited it for me, but I didn't put down who. Probably Ecto_Gammat, who deserves praise anyway.

Bruce Wayne, last scion of the House of Wayne, entered his magnificent bedroom and was disappointed; there was no naked, horny, nigh invulnerable alien in his bed. It had been a quiet night in Gotham so he had returned earlier than expected. The drive home had planted the idea in his head that maybe it was a quiet night all over the world. By the time he finished changing and showering, that idea had bloomed into a hope.

A practical man, Bruce amended his hope as he settled into his empty bed. Instead of a night of love in a large bed, a dawn attack would have to suffice. About six months after they had started having sex, Clark had admitted how the first flush of light aroused every cell. Since then, they had found dawn was the best way for them to come together when time was short. 

Bruce only realized he had fallen asleep thinking about Clark when he was awakened by a dawn attack. But as he blinked the sleep from his eyes he figured out something was wrong. It was still dark, his body had not been teased into arousal, and the hands that flipped him onto his stomach were rough. Bruce leveraged himself up to look at Clark scrambling out of his uniform. He was aroused but angry, almost glowing in the darkness. Finally naked, he saw Bruce looking at him and growled. 

Bruce moved to sit up and calm Kal down and found himself shoved facedown into the mattress. His arms were bent at the elbow and folded together on his back so both could be held by one of Kal’s hands. The other hand started working lube in his asshole; not to prepare him but because Kal wanted to finger fuck him. Teeth at his neck drew blood for Kal to suck upon; doubtless leaving a grapefruit sized hickey. Two fingers pulled him open and stayed inside him as Kal shoved in. 

Kal growled his pleasure before starting to speak in what Bruce believed was Kryptonian. He could at least recognize most Earth languages and could interrogate in several. This language of strange sounds would have been beautiful spoken in Clark’s loving voice. The Kal that topped him now was completely alien, seemingly unconcerned with who he was fucking. 

Kal had come to him like this twice before and each time it got more violent. Finally sated, Kal had fallen away so it was Clark who hit the bed. Begging forgiveness, gently stroking Bruce, he would gradually explain what awful thing had sent him off but never what words he said. Bruce would do a little fucking of his own and all would be forgiven. Bruce would never admit, not even to himself, that sometimes he liked having his control ripped away. Occasionally. But if it had been anyone other than Clark, he would have extracted a terrible revenge. 

Bruce lived in his mind and knew his mind was not important in this exchange. As such he could think about these things while Kal was totally lost in his baser instincts, but the fluid dribbling down his taint brought him back into his body. Kal was still pounding into him, and the level of pain suggested the fluid was his blood. This thought was enough to kill what little desire his body had managed to conjure up. Clark would never hurt him, but apparently Kal would. Bruce tried to struggle, talked to get Clark’s attention, only to have the hand half in his ass removed and wrapped around his mouth instead. Bruce could smell himself but also gunpowder and smoke. 

There was a shudder and Kal was coming and coming. Bruce felt stuffed with liquid but having Kal still inside him kept the semen from exiting. More Kryptonian words growled in his ear before Kal pulled out and uncovered Bruce’s mouth. Bruce felt another hickey being super suctioned onto his skin, this one on his ass. 

A lick over the burning skin and he was released completely. He flipped around, arms too numb to help, and watched Kal dress. He didn’t even wipe off his fluid or Bruce’s blood. Dressed, Kal went to the balcony and left without a word, not noticing it was a pissed Batman who watched him fly away. 

Bruce had a multitude of issues, including control, abandonment and an obsessive need to know. Batman had a list of things he was willing to put up with to keep Bruce happy: this was not one of them. Neither aspect of his personality accepted a Clark so out of character. Making his way to the shower, Bruce stood under the water until life returned to his arms and blood stopped flowing. Throwing on sweats, he went down to the gym and flipped on the radio as he started stretching. He was almost ready to start working out when he heard the news bulletin he was looking for. 

A late night apartment fire had ended in three deaths despite Superman’s assistance. He had been helping to suppress the fire when one of the residents, a schizophrenic presumed off his medicine, had started shooting at firefighters. Bullets ripped through material designed to keep heat out and the two firefighters had died before Superman could get to them. While he disarmed the shooter, carried him to safety and retrieved the bodies, a young girl had died. Hidden in a closet and too scared to scream, her parents had arrived from the corner bar, screaming for her. When all Superman had been able to retrieve had been unrecognizable, he had been the focus of their pain and rage. 

A bad day, one that Batman could definitely appreciate and sympathize with. But Kal could not be allowed to take control just to lose it. Superman needed to sympathize with and care about the humanity he was trying to protect. Needed the human element of Clark or the world would be in serious trouble. 

Batman was prepared to take down the alien, despite the emotions involved. He would do it if he had too, even if it made the world turn against him or killed him. He could admit to himself, it probably would kill him, crush Bruce’s soul and Batman’s humanity if he was the instrument of Superman’s destruction. 

Still, he was a thinker and a planner. Simply preventing that situation was a much better plan than having to figure out how to react to it. A little planning as he worked his body and if Bruce tried to inject sentimentality into calculations, simply clenching his butt muscles reminded him of the urgency of the situation. 

sB _Sb_ Bs

A simple plan and patience was all that was required. A month and a half later and Batman was requested at the fortress, as he knew he would be eventually. He was trusted and had full access to the computers. When Clark muttered something about Japan and sped out, Bruce downloaded the Kryptonian language database. 

After downloading it on a prototype WEPod, Bruce spent every idle moment listening to it. He tuned engines while practicing consonant combos. Workouts delved into grammatical structure and limo rides built up sentences. The challenging vocabulary kept him from sleeping during W.E. meetings. Just about the time Bruce felt like he had a solid grasp on the language, he was given a chance to find out. 

Kal-el came to him, ethereal and demanding. This time he smelled of human blood, and stains on his uniform absorbed the early morning light. He couldn’t even be bothered to fully take off that uniform as he took what he needed from Bruce. Positioning Bruce with knees bent and ass in the air, one strong hand held two hands pointed at Bruce’s head, Bruce’s elbows painfully bent. 

Bruce had to turn his head from where it was shoved into the mattress so he could breathe, but he could still hear. Clark apparently had a human accent that made his words slightly different than the stolen recordings. Bruce adjusted and worked to understand words broken with thrusts and grunts. 

_“If I hold too tight, I crush them, Beloved. But if I let go they slip away and die. I die when they die, but I live on and morn. But you Beloved, I refuse to morn. You’re not allowed to die, it would drive me mad. I hate this world for what it does, for what it did to you. I might destroy it if it dares to kill you. That makes you the most important person in the history of this world but I can’t let you know that. Stress of that would kill you quicker. I have to protect you, lock you away and preserve you forever. I want to control you, own you, but you own me, Beloved of the house of El who is not allowed to die. Beautiful, demanding, controlling…”_

Clark’s impending orgasm seemed to be reducing him to a string of descriptive words aimed at Bruce. Not all of them matched up with words Bruce knew but the resulting knot in his stomach didn’t need all the details. Even as Kal came, Bruce was trying to identify the unfamiliar emotions tied up in that knot. Kal fell heavily on top of him, squishing Bruce to the bed with his hands still twisted up and pinned. After the shuddering was over and breath returned to normal, a thick voice growled into his ear. 

_“Sometimes, Beloved, it takes all my will power not to mark you as my own. I grow tired of all those peons looking upon what I own.”_

Then the weight lifted and Bruce flopped around to see Kal adjusting his uniform pants as he flew into the sun. Bruce pulled his arms to his front and waited for the blood to resume flowing. He had tried in his years of training to prepare for every eventuality, but nothing had even touched on this. He wasn’t equipped to handle a possessive alien lover placing the fate of the world in his hands. Understanding this made it possible to recognize the feeling in his gut as panic. Batman did not panic, but apparently Kal’s sex slave could. When the blood returned to his arms, he cleaned up and headed for the gym. Attempting to sleep now would be pointless. 

sB _Sb_ Bs

An assault of sunlight brought Bruce out of his dreams but it took him a moment to figure out where he was. Alfred was standing over him, so that was a considerable help in calming and orienteering. He noticed a book on his chest and remembered he was in the library. How many times since Kal had come to him had he woken here? Clark had even found him here a couple of times, but his curiosity was abated by sex. He’d been trying to do a little reading after patrols; hoping human psychology would give him an insight into what to do about Kal. It wasn’t going all that well actually, despite his knowledge of psychology as it related to crimials. He sighed and sat up, as Alfred handed him a cup of coffee. 

“Master Bruce, if there is something amiss with your bed; a few words in my ear will remedy the situation.” Alfred’s code for ‘what’s up with you.’ 

“I’m just trying to figure someone out.” Alfred had a great understanding of people, but this was such a strange situation Bruce hadn’t thought he’d be able to help. If he had believed Alfred could have helped, he would have asked him the morning after he learned what Kal was saying. 

“Naturally Sir. I had noticed your increased appreciation of psychology.” He waited a moment to see if Bruce would do more than sip his coffee. “I am afraid you will not find a solution to your Joker problem in these texts.” 

Bruce sighed; clearly Alfred was reluctant to let this go. Maybe his fresh eyes could provide some insight after all. “It’s not the Joker, it’s Clark. I found out something that he doesn’t want me to know. And what I know is, well, scary.” 

Alfred settled into a chair and regarded Bruce a minute before speaking. “Master Bruce, I am afraid this is one of those situations where the answer would be obvious to everybody, except you.” 

Alfred held up a calming hand to Bruce’s glare. 

“Admit it Master Bruce, personal relationships have never been your forte. Now, take a moment to consider these psychology texts you have been devouring lately. What do they all say to do before beginning to diagnose a patient?” 

“Well, while you’re talking to the patient there is a series of questions that can lead you to a diagnosis.” Bruce replied, unsure of exactly where Alfred was going with this. 

“Yes, first you must talk to the patient. Or, in your case, you must talk about this with Master Kent.” Alfred’s firm gaze and wise words made Bruce squirm a little. “But of course, you found out by using subterfuge, and do not want tell him you know. Fortunately, Master Clark is a very forgiving individual. Tell him of your transgression and let him met out the appropriate punishment.” 

“Alfred, you don’t understand, mainly because I can’t tell you.” Bruce placed his empty cup on the tray. “He can’t put his feelings for me above the good of the whole planet.” 

“I doubt he will, when the appropriate time comes. Master Kent is very aware of his responsibilities and takes them to heart. If he said otherwise, it might have been his way of venting emotional stress.” 

Bruce sagged against the back of the couch in relief. “Of course, Alfred. It was just stress talking, Clark would never do that. Thank God! And thank you, Alfred. Next time Clark does something weird, I’m coming straight to you.” 

“Sir, while I really hope you are correct, you still need to discuss this with Master Kent.” Alfred was right, but Bruce was too relieved to care right now. If it came up, he would deal with it. Bruce nodded at Alfred and headed upstairs to prepare for his day, happy the mystery was solved. 

sB _Sb_ Bs

Two months slid by without a visit from Kal-el, proving it was just Clark venting an enormous amount of stress. Bruce thought that frequent sex would keep Clark from reaching that point and had enjoyed making sure they got together as often as possible. He sincerely believed it would have worked, if only he hadn’t been so damn fallible. 

A fight on a roof, a hostage shoved over. Jumping after him had been his only choice, and his grappling hook missed. He tucked and rolled so he took the brunt of the impact of a four story fall. Alfred reset his dislocated shoulder and wrapped his ribs, but it meant a week or two on the sidelines. He told Clark there were still things they could do, but Clark felt it was the perfect opportunity to practice cuddling. A skill Bruce lacked, according to Clark, but practicing it made Clark happy. 

When he was recovered enough to convince Clark to have sex with him, they took a Monday night off to enjoy it. They had fallen asleep in each other’s arms, but Clark had accidently awakened Bruce as he left for some emergency. Grumbling, Bruce had forced himself to fall back to sleep. When a strong, naked body entwined with his, he accepted it and tried for more sleep. The cold woke him and he blinked at his surroundings. 

The stars were way too close and the ground way too far. A look at his lover’s face and Bruce knew it was Kal who held him. That alien leered at him before leaning back so Bruce was lying on top of him. Kal’s erection was now trapped between them, so he grabbed Bruce’s shoulders and started pushing his whole body up and down. Bruce did not appreciate this, so he scrambled to find a hold on Kal. Grabbing Kal’s wrists he wrapped his legs around Kal’s waist and locked his ankles. Now it was Kal’s turn to dislike the situation. 

_“How dare you fight me, Beloved! You know you want this; you just can’t let yourself admit it! You think you want control, but in my arms you relinquish control. Understand that or you will get hurt.”_

Bruce was shocked at how threatening Kal sounded. Kal started to roll over in the air and the panic was back in Bruce’s stomach. 

_“I will get what I need from you, whether you want to give it or not!”_

With their positions reversed, gravity pulled Bruce away from Kal, just enough that he could go back to getting friction from a reluctant Bruce. Bruce considered pulling himself tighter to Kal, but thought the alien could probably outlast him in the cold atmosphere. So he took a deep breath, and kicked away. 

He plummeted toward the ground, aware of the shocked look on Kal’s face. Bruce wondered idly, if he was going to destroy the world if it killed me, what will he do to himself if he lets me die? Then Kal moved, gathering Bruce in his arms and returning to the bed. His ankles were over Kal’s shoulders and Kal was pounding into him as he talked. 

_“Crazy Beloved! Reckless! Defying me at every turn. Letting yourself get injured when you know how much I need you! Tell me, and I will take you away from all this. You will live forever, giving me a reason to keep fighting. Show the slightest fear and I will take you away, lock you away for your safety. I hate the fear I see in others around me, but you never feared me. What does fear taste like on your skin? Lock you away, so you will never risk your precious life for someone too stupid to drop to the floor when armed men show up. Your life is supposed to be mine, Beloved! Never forget that. Mine!”_

A final thrust and Kal was filling Bruce. When Kal relaxed, Bruce scrambled away from him. So much for putting off that conversation, Bruce thought. He did decide to ease into it, talk to Clark instead of Kal, and keep it in English. “Clark, we really need to talk. These little episodes of yours are getting out of hand.” 

Kal growled back. _“You dare speak to me in that crude language! You are probably as undeserving of my love as the rest of them, but my heart demands only you.”_

Overlapping thoughts raced through Bruce’s head, so he shut them all out and tried again. When he started to speak, he hadn’t made up his mind which language to use; he just knew he needed to reach Clark. “Clark?” 

But Kal’s attention was focused outside the window and he grunted with disgust. Then he moved, dressed and flew off. Bruce stared out into the sky until the dawn light disrupted his thoughts. 

sB _Sb_ Bs

Preoccupied with his thoughts and unexpectedly busy during the day, Bruce didn’t get a chance to talk to Alfred about it. He planned on doing that before going out on patrol, only to find the JL emergency signal required his attention. He knew Clark would be there, but had to respond. Kal’s nocturnal visits had never interfered with their work before, and hopefully today would be no exception. Though Bruce was fond of the old phrase, hope for the best but prepare excessively for the worst. 

One of Toyman’s giant robots was headed for Metropolis and the first JL members on scene hadn’t been able to slow it down. When Batman’s plan was defeated before they could even get to the second step, he found a shadow to blend into and took stock. 

Toyman must have found a way to tap into their communications signal, which is why he waited until J’onn was off planet before attacking. His telepathy would have allowed them to talk without Toyman overhearing. But just how prepared was Toyman? 

Batman thought about it and gave Superman a series of commands in high Mongolian. A few seconds for translation and the robot moved in anticipation of Superman’s next move. Batman had a plan, and he had access to a language the software wouldn’t be able to translate. Every fiber of his being told him it was a really bad idea, but the robot was too close to densely populated Metropolis for further delays. 

“Crap.” Batman realized he said that out loud when it echoed back into his JL earpiece. It was extremely tame compared to the words he’d have like to fill the airways with. Had he found any Kryptonian cuss words in his studies, he would have used them. Very formal language. With no choice he gritted his teeth and spoke. 

Superman stopped attacking the robot to turn and stare down at the shadows. Batman checked his pronunciation and repeated the Kryptonian words. _“Kal-el, the metal seam on the left butt cheek is a weak point. Attack and enter through there.”_

Superman turned and did as instructed, fingers finding the weak spots and ripping the plates of metal away. Judicious use of heat vision inside and the Toyman ejected as flames consumed the robot. Batman moved toward the robot, hoping to figure out how the Toyman had tapped into the communication system. A strong arm around his shoulders pulled him to Clark’s side as Superman spoke to the confused leaguers. 

“If you could just grab Toyman and give him to the cops, that would be great. I have a few things I have to discuss with Batman. See you later!” 

A cheery wave and they were in the sky, headed North Bruce figured. “Clark …” 

A firm hand over his mouth and Clark growled into his ear. “Don’t you talk to me right now.” 

Bruce sighed and let Clark take him to the fortress. A Clark this angry probably didn’t want Bruce to live forever, so locking him in the fortress wasn’t a priority. Once inside, he was tossed into the bedroom that was kept warm in case of his arrival. Bruce turned off the JL comm. and tried to warm up. Clark threw his comm. onto a desk and started pacing. 

“How long?” An angry Clark demanded. 

“Long enough.” Bruce was calm, accepting of his fate. 

“How long?” Clark was responding by getting angrier and louder each time he spoke. 

“Two visits from Kal-el long.” 

“Two! When were you going to tell me?” He was now pacing so fast Bruce couldn’t see him properly. 

“I tried last night, but you left in a hurry.” Bruce was going for accurate and reasonable, but was pretty sure he still sounded accusatory. He wasn’t the only one at fault in this situation. 

“Shit, Bruce!” When Clark got angry enough to cuss like that, buildings tended to get demolished. Bruce was trying to accept his punishment as Alfred suggested, but that wasn’t his nature. ”Why couldn’t you just leave it alone?” 

Out of patience with the anger coming his way, Bruce let Batman take control. “And what part of our history together has shown that I let things be?” 

“You need to learn then!” 

“And you need to learn control.” Clark stopped pacing to hone in on the increasingly soft Bat-growl. 

“Control! I am always in control, least I destroy this fragile little planet and the fragile little things on it. Sometimes, I just need to be completely me, with all my abilities in use. Can’t you understand that?” Clark was glowing, and probably floating a little. Batman maintained eye contact instead of looking; he dare not give a sign of weakness. 

“Yes! Do you have any idea how much I would like to turn Batman loose on those insipid board meetings? But I don’t, because I have control, always. Every time you lose control; it’s harder to get back, isn’t it? And people’s fragile little lives depend on your control. If you can’t care enough about those lives to ignore what you want, then get the hell off my planet!” 

“Don’t be so sanctimonious. You’re just pissed because I took it out on you.” Clark was definitely glowing now, it made his eyes so dark when he did that. 

“Not really. If you had to go nuts, I’m fine with bearing the brunt of it. I just had to understand and you wouldn’t explain it. But I don’t exactly bake cookies for a living, do I? I’m going to die before you and you threatened to use that as an excuse to destroy this planet. What’s the point in giving my life for a city when my death will result in its destruction? I was happy to believe it was just stress talking, but the urgency in Kal’s voice is too convincing.” Batman was cataloging the changes that turned Clark into Kal as they talked. 

_“I could keep you here, you know.”_ The threat was growled out in Kryptonian as Clark let Kal take over. 

A hand moved to Batman’s utility belt, but stayed on the outside. Bruce kept Batman from digging anything out just yet. Batman confronting Kal was a bad idea; they needed to bring Clark back. Without looking away from Kal, Bruce removed one glove then the other. The removal of the cowl broke the eye lock and allowed Bruce to see that Kal was confused but triumphant. He thought the removal of the armor meant Batman was giving in. 

Once free of the chest armor Bruce sat on the bed to work off the boots. Kal came to stand over him, naked and half aroused with his victory. Taking the pants off while leaving the belt on was awkward and Bruce felt ridiculous, but he wasn’t parting with it just yet. Kal licked his lips as he waited for Bruce to remove the belt, the last symbol of a defiant Batman. Bruce scrambled back on the bed so he could lay spread eagle on it. As his left hand started stroking his penis, the right removed a marker from the belt. He traced a crude version of the House of El shield over his heart while staring at Kal. 

_“Just there, Beloved, mark me as your own. Claim me, own me. I deify you no longer.”_

Kal growled before his eyes turned red. The burning had Bruce biting his lips to keep the sounds of pain inside. When the heat vision stopped the pain lingered but Bruce thought he was over the worst of it, until Kal landed on top of him. His hot tongue licked the wound and made Bruce cry out. The noise only made Kal harder, so he started to position their bodies. It seemed hurting Bruce wouldn’t bring Clark back after all, so he let Batman loose. 

Kal was just about to push into an unprepared Bruce when the Kryptonite ring smashed into his face. Kal roared his anger and reached for Bruce’s throat. But Batman was a better fighter when Superman was stripped of his super abilities. He wasn’t there to be throttled when Kal reached for him. A backhand to the face, a kick to the stomach and knee to the nose drove Kal to his knees, bloodied and confused. But he was thinking with more than his dick and remembered where he was. 

_“Computer, anti-kryptonite function!”_ A bare foot connected with the side of his face, breaking the jaw. 

When Batman spoke he was completely calm and doing a good job of impersonating Clark’s normal voice and human accented Kryptonian. _“Computer, cancel last command.”_

The yellow light that had just flickered to life, extinguished before Kal could figure out how to speak around the pain in his jaw. Batman glowed from the light of the Kryptonite ring as he snarled down at Kal. 

_“So tough, so perfect, so much better than me and the little people on this little planet. You want to protect me, save me, own me. But you can’t even protect yourself from me! I own you. You were smart enough to figure that out but stupid enough to tell me. Your need made you forget how dangerous I am. You lost control and forgot just who you were _fucking_ with. Yes, _fuck._ A word too crude to be translated into your precious language. The people of this planet, to crude to deserve your love. But do you deserve our love, or mine? Would I still be your beloved if I let you lock me away? Kill us all, put us out of our misery and you will find only fear greets you from the rest of the universe. If my life is yours, then your life is mine. And I’m demanding, controlling, but also forgiving to the deserving. I will give you a chance. Repeat after me. Bruce will die.” _

Met only with silence, Batman had no choice but to remind Kal of who was in charge here with a backhand. _“Repeat. Bruce will die.”_

_“Bruce will die.”_ The words were slurred out through the swelling of the jaw. 

_“Batman will die.”_

_“Batman will die.”_ Kal’s blood vessels turned green and swelled like they were trying to leave his skin. 

_“Bruce will die, and I will do nothing.”_

Kal whimpered, the beginning of panic in his eyes. Batman grabbed his jaw with the hand wearing the ring, but relented a little. 

_“Bruce will die, and I will do nothing to the innocent.”_

_“Bruce will die, and I will do nothing to the innocent.”_ That was something Kal could promise, instead of the vague ‘nothing.’ Maybe it was the kryptonite, but Kal’s glow seemed to be gone. 

_“I am with Bruce.”_

_“I am with Bruce.”_ The harsh voice was softening, the eyes brightening. 

_“Bruce is with me.”_

_“Bruce is with me.”_

_“I have marked his heart, but do not own him.”_

Panicked eyes glanced at the shield burned onto Bruce and he had to swallow before he could speak. _“I have marked his heart, but do not own him.”_

_“Only with Bruce am I allowed to lose control.”_

“Never again Bruce, I don’t want to hurt you anymore.” Clark was finally back, but Batman knew he couldn’t relent just yet. 

Batman squeezed the jaw and growled. _“Say it.”_

_“Only with Bruce am I allowed to lose control.”_

_“When Bruce dies, I will maintain control forever.”_

Clark closed his eyes, either to fight back tears at the dismal prospect or hide his shame at what he had done. _“When Bruce dies, I will maintain control forever.”_

_“I solemnly swear.”_

Clark’s eyes opened and locked with Bruce’s before he spoke past his pain and sickness. _“I solemnly swear by all I hold dear, including my Beloved.”_

Batman accepted what he saw there, so he shoved the ring back into the compartment and let Bruce heal Clark. Bruce heaved Clark over his shoulders and set off for the sunroom. The subzero temperatures bit into naked flesh but Bruce managed to get Clark onto the sun-table before collapsing. His lips were numb and he was shivering too much to make the words the A.I. would respond to. He reached up and grabbed Clark’s hand, so it was an exhausted Clark who ordered the A.I. to warm up the room and turn on the sun lamps. 

Bruce felt drained, like he was the one who had his life force sucked out by a glowing rock. It was all this emotional crap he had worked so hard to excise from his life. He’d almost reached that goal when Clark had shoved it right back into him. Getting rid of his feelings had been the smart thing to do at the time. The smart thing here and now would have been to tell the A.I. to warm up the corridor and room, but he had been too focused on Clark to do the smart thing. Right now, he knew he should return to the bedroom and take a hot shower before climbing into warm sheets. 

Yet he couldn’t let go of Clark’s hand. Had to be here when he awakened, making sure he hadn’t permanently hurt Clark. He felt guilty for hurting Clark but had no other ideas what to do about Kal’s unreasonable demands. Maneuvering into a more comfortable position, Bruce pushed the guilt, fear, and remorse aside. As those emotions tried to get back into his thoughts, Bruce meditated himself to sleep. 

sB _Sb_ Bs

Bruce only stirred a little when a mostly restored Clark picked him up and carried him to the bed. Clark examined the angry wound on Bruce’s chest and found the first aid kit he had bought when Bruce had started visiting the fortress regularly. Gently applying the burn cream, he tried to push past his feelings and figure out what had been going through Bruce’s mind. Letting Kal mark him just to beat him up! Why not skip the marking and go straight for the kryptonite? What other damage had he done to Bruce’s fragile body? 

Kal had been in the wrong with what he was doing to Bruce, but Clark was far worse. Clark allowed Kal freedom, knowing what he was doing to Bruce. Maybe he wanted to get caught; maybe that was why he couldn’t stop talking to Bruce in Kryptonian. His hand rested below the red skin and allowed him to feel Bruce’s steady heartbeat. 

Batman had been correct when he said allowing himself to stay in the fortress forever would have lessened Clark’s love. What he hadn’t realized, was even if his love reduced he would still need Bruce, and have kept him in the fortress. But the Bruce who refused a wasteful immortality was the one he would hold in his heart until he died. 

“Clark,” Clark froze, afraid the slightest movement would hurt the awakened Bruce. “the spot you normally lubricate is further south.” 

Clark frowned. Did Bruce seriously want sex at a time like this? Words came before Clark could censor them, but so soft they wouldn’t hurt the ears of his beloved. “I’m sorry, Bruce. I knew what Kal did to you and I let him out anyway. I’ll lock him away, so he can never hurt anyone again. From now on, I’ll just be Clark Kent or Superman. Kal-el is going to wither away and die, I promise.” 

“No, Kal is part of you. All your negative emotions you don’t like to face, maybe. He, or you, has or have needs that aren’t being met. You, both, just need to find a healthy way to express them or whatever. Look who you’re asking! I dress like a bat, I clearly have issues. So, for pities sake, find a shrink or something.” 

Clark felt dizzy, so many emotions tried to crowd into his heart at one time. Bruce would make him pay, through mind games and submissive sex, but he had forgiven him. And Clark secretly enjoyed it when Bruce made him pay like that, so it wasn’t like the price would be too high. Bruce was secretive and held things close but he’d accept whatever Clark would give him. Like lightning directly to the brain, Clark suddenly had an idea what Kal might need. Now he just had to talk Bruce into it. 

With the lightest touch he could manage, Clark traced a tightening spiral around Bruce’s right nipple. When it was nice and hard, he moved down the chest, across the abs until Clark had to break contact. Bruce still wore the utility belt, as Clark had no idea how to get it off of him. Below the belt, he used both hands to encircle and tease his target. 

Bruce was trying for hard to get, had his eyes closed and was controlling his breath. But even as he tried to direct his mind away, Clark’s hand began doing the things he had learned would drive Bruce crazy. When Bruce was nice and hard, Clark straddled his legs and started making love to that hardness. Kisses and licks and a gentle nibble on the underside, so Bruce was just about there when Clark began to speak. 

“So, Bruce. You know how the Fortress is out of normal time and space?” 

“Tessera ract.” Bruce almost managed to get the word out, so Clark just had to nibble him just there. It was so sexy when he could drive Bruce to stumble like that! “So?” 

“If I sealed us in …” Bruce was sitting up on his elbows and daring him to say the wrong word. Clark hid behind Bruce’s erection and sent his best puppy dog eyes up at him. “Just two weeks, then we pop out like we just left the fight with Toyman!” 

He could see Bruce considering it, but Bruce also knew when Clark was bribing him with sex. Clark leaned forward and wetly licked the shaft before him. As he spoke, he made sure warm air danced across that wet trail. “It would do me a world of good.” 

Bruce was so close, that wonderful edge just there, it had to be effecting his judgment. He still found the control to make it sound like he was granting Clark a huge favor. “Fine, Clark, if it will help you.” 

Clark expressed his thanks by swallowing what was before him and applying just the little bit of suction that had Bruce shooting off. Bruce was still shuddering when Clark released him and spoke. _“Computer, seal the fortress and enter the tesseract. When two Earth weeks have passed, inform me and bring us back to this time spot. Emergency exit from the tesseract will be only by my verified voice commands. The rest of the Fortress should be brought up to human comfort levels, including nonessential areas.”_

Bruce had recovered and was just watching him now. Bruce accepted he had agreed to be trapped here and wanted to know what Clark had in mind. 

First, Clark had a gift to give him. _“From now on, all voice commands will only be accepted if spoken by me, or Bruce. Do you need a sample of his biorhythmics?”_

_“Negative, Kal-el, previous files include such information.”_

Clark floated up to lay on Bruce’s right side, careful not the hurt the burn on the left side. “From now on, the fortress will only respond to me or you. A precaution I never put in place because no enemies knew about this place. But it’ll make you happy, so I’ll do it. All parts of the Fortress are open to you now. Maybe, if Kal shows someone the remains of his world, he won’t feel so alone. You were right, as usual. Misplaced negative emotions drove me to hurt you. I was so lonely before I found you and I’m so afraid of being that way again, when you die.” 

Narrowed eyes studied him until he started to get nervous, but he held out for Bruce to say something. _“Kal-el, what you just did to my anatomy? Do that again and I will give you something to remember me by for eternity.”_

They both felt Clark grow hard at the words, so he blushed even as he trailed fingers over Bruce. _“Beloved, how far shall I go before asking the questions that need answers?”_

A moment of confusion before Bruce spoke. _“Which questions?”_

Clark let his hand rest under the burned skin as he asked. _“Why, Beloved Bruce, why?”_

“I was trying to show Kal the difference, so I could get through to you. He marked my skin, and his mark will fade over time. You marked my heart, that will never fade.” Bruce gave a one shoulder shrug and reached for Clark’s erection. 

Clark floated out of reach and stared down at his lover. “That’s really profound, Bruce.” 

Bruce glared at Clark’s floating form before turning to face the ceiling. He bent his knees and spread his legs before he started to touch himself. Once he was hard, he started moaning and wiggling, every action pulling Clark closer. Clark fought to close his eyes, ask the questions he needed to know and Bruce turned to face him. “Such a waste.” 

Clark couldn’t take any more. A gob of spit for lubrication, and Clark was impaling himself on Bruce. He was frantic, as if it had been years since they had last done this instead of hours. The practiced rhythm had them both coming at the same time. 

Once he recovered, Clark started to wipe them up. As he did, he tried to remember the questions that had been burning in his brain before his body started burning. As he settled next to Bruce, he decided that if they were important, they’d come back. A new question had him whispering in Bruce’s ear. _“One more question before you sleep, beloved.”_

_“If you must, Kal.”_ The exasperation only just made it past the sleepiness. 

_“How do you feel about learning to talk dirty in Kryptonian?”_

_“On bring it, big boy.”_

Clark grinned himself to sleep. If Superman wasn’t perfect, it was nice to know his lover wasn’t quite perfect either, just pretty damn close. 

sB _Sb_ Bs


End file.
